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Microfiche 

Series. 


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Collection  de 
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Canadian  Institute  for  Historical  Microreproductions  /  Institut  Canadian  de  microreproductions  historiques 


vV 


Technical  and  Sibliographic  Notes/Notes  techniques  et  bibliographiques 


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which  may  alter  any  of  the  images  in  the 
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the  usual  method  of  filming,  are  checked  below. 


□ 


D 


Coloured  covers/ 
Couverture  de  couleur 


□    Covers  damaged/ 
Couverture  endommagee 

nCov 
Cou 


Covers  restored  and/or  laminated/ 
verture  restaurde  et/ou  pelliculde 


I      j    Cover  ftle  missing/ 


Le  titre  de  couverture  manque 

Coloured  maps/  . 

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Encr<«  de  couleur  (i.e.  aut.e  que  bleue  ou  noira) 

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D 


Bound  with  other  material/ 
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r~|    Coloured  pages/ 


Pages  de  couleur 

Pages  damaged/ 
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Pages  restored  and/oi 

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I      I    Pages  damaged/ 

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"y|    Pages  discoloured,  stained  or  foxed/ 
^    Pages  d6color6es,  tachet^es  ou  piqucies 


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■y 


D 


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obtenir  la  meilleure  image  possible. 


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Ce  document  est  filmd  au  taux  de  reduction  indiqu6  ci-dessous. 

10X  14X  18X  22X 


26X 


3QX 


y 

r"""^ 

p-»M^ 

12X                             16X                             20X 

24X 

28X 

32X 

The  copy  filmed  here  has  been  reproduced  thanks 
to  the  generosity  of: 

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shall  contain  the  symbol  ^^-  (meaning  "CON- 
TINUED"), or  the  symbol  V  (meaning  "END"), 
whichever  applies. 

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different  reduction  ratios.  Those  too  large  to  be. 
entirely  included  in  one  exposure  are  filmed 
beginning  in  the  upper  left  hand  corner,  left  to 
right  and  top  to  bottom,  as  many  frames  as 
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method: 


Lea  images  suivam  Js  ont  dt6  reproduites  avec  ie 
plus  grand  soin,  compte  tenu  de  la  condition  et 
de  la  nettetd  de  I'exemplaire  film6,  et  en 
conformity  avec  les  conditions  du  contrat  de 
filmage. 

L63  exempiaires  originaux  dont  la  couverture  en 
papier  est  imprimde  sont  iWmts  en  commen(pant 
par  Ie  premier  plat  et  en  terminant  soit  par  la 
dernidre  page  qui  comporte  une  empreinte 
d'impression  ou  d'illustravion,  soit  par  Ie  second 
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originaux  sont  filmds  e".  comrr.engant  par  la 
pr^rnidre  page  qui  comporte  une  empreinte 
d'impression  ou  d'illustration  et  en  terminant  par 
la  dernidre  page  qui  comporte  une  telle 
empreinte. 

Un  des  symboles  suivants  apparaitra  sur  la 
dernidre  image  de  cheque  microfiche,  selon  Ie 
cas:  Ie  symbole  — »>signifie  "A  SUIVRE",  Ie 
symbole  V  signifie  "FIN". 

Les  cartes,  planches,  tableaux,  etc.,  peuvent  dtre 
filmds  d  des  taux  de  reduction  diffdrents. 
Lorsque  Ie  document  est  trop  grand  pour  dtre 
reproduit  en  un  seul  clichd,  il  est  film6  d  partir 
de  Tangle  sup^rieur  gauche,  Je  gauche  d  droite, 
et  de  haut  en  bas,  en  prenant  la  nombre 
d'images  ndcessaire.  Les  diagrammes  suivants 
illustrent  la  m6thode. 


1  2  3 


1 

2 

3 

4 

5 

3 

[RE-PRINTED   FROM  THE  NORTH   AMERICAN  REVIEW.] 


The  Greater 
Half  of  the  Continent. 


"  In  re.sT  onse  to  an  urgent  letter  from  C.  C.  Bonney,  Esq.,  of  Chicago,  ex-President 
of  the  Bar  Absociation  of  Illinois,  the  editor  of  the  North  American  Review  has  waived 
his  exclusive  rights,  under  the  copyright  law,  to  publish  Eragtus  Wiman's  article, 
"The  Greater  Half  of  the  Continent,"  which  appeared  in  the  January  number  of  that 
periodical.  Mr.  Bonney's  request  was'preferred  because,  as  he  expressed  it,  he  "felt 
that  an  article  containing  so  much  information,  in  such  a  compact  shape,  on  a  subject  just 
now  so  interesting  to  the  people  of  the  United  States,  should  be  published  in  pamphlet 
form,  and  thus  secure  a  wider  distribution  than  its  appearance  in  a  magazine  afforded." 
As  if  in  furtherance  of  this  desire,  a  gentleman  in  Ohio  (who  does  not  wish  his  name  men- 
tioned), has  provided  a  sum  to  print  a  number  of  copies  sufficient  to  reach  every  newspaper 
editor,  writer,  and  author,  together  with  a  special  list,  outside  of  these,  of  "men  who  think," 
recently  compiled  from  all  parts  of  the  country.  This  will  require  an  edition  of  ten 
thousand  copies,  which  is  now  being  printed  and  distributed." — Toronto  Mail. 


NEW  YORK: 

Printed   for    Erastus    Wiman, 
314  broadway. 


•  •  • 


•  • 


♦  'i>-yj<t 


•  •  • 


•  •  • 


I    'I 

•J 


•    •  » 


•  • 


•  •  • 


•  •  * 


•  • 


•  •• 


THS  GREATER 
HALF   OF  THE    CONTINENT. 


It  is  not  a  lifctle  singular  that,  in  this  counti  7,  and  in 
this  period  of  the  easy  acquirement  of  general  informa- 
tion, so  little  is  known  of  the  greater  half  of  the  continent 
of  North  America,  included  within  the  British  posses* 
sions.  It  shows,  for  instance,  how  little  is  known  even 
of  the  broadest  generalities,  when  the  statement  is  re* 
ceived  with  surprise,  if  not  incredulity,  that,  excluding 
Alaska,  Canada  is  a  larger  country  than  the  United 
States.  Yet  such  is  the  case;  for  the  United  States, 
prior  to  the  purchase  of  Alaska,  was  included  within 
3,036,000  square  miles,  while  Canada  stretches  out  to  fill 
3,470,392  square  miles.  It  would  perhaps  help  to  convey 
some  conception  of  the  magnitude  of  Canada  when  the 
atatement  is  made  that,  in  area,  it  comprises  very  nearly 
forty  per  cent,  of  the  entire  British  Empire,  the  extent 
of  which  is  recalled  bv  the  boast  that  the  sun  never  sets 
on  British  possessions.  A  still  further  rather  startling 
statement  in  relation  to  Canada  is,  that,  including  the 
great  lakes  which  encircle  it  and  which  penetrate  it,  and 
the  rivers  of  enormous  size  and  length  which  permeate  it, 
in  it  is  found  more  than  one-half  of  the  fresh  water  of  the 
entire  globe.  Such  broad  generalities  as  these  may  well 
excite  the  attention  of  the  people  of  the  United  States, 


THE  GREATER  HALF  OF  THE  CONIINEKT. 


who,  in  view  of  the  magnificent  proportions  of  their  o^wn 
rountry,  have  been  unconsciously  led  to  believe  that  it 
comprises  all  that  is  worth  having  on  the  continent. 

The  impression  of  magnitude,  so  far  as  Canada  is  con- 
erned,  is,  however,  always  accompanied  by  a  conviction, 
born  of  ignorance,  that  the  Dominion  is  a  region  of  frost 
rxnd  snow  ;  that  it  is  a  sterile  and  inhospitable  waste — 
simply  a  section  of  the  North  Pole.  This  conclusion  con- 
firms the  conviction  that  Canada  is  of  little  or  no  use  to- 
the  United  States,  so  rich  in  resource,  so  varied  in  climate,, 
and  so  self-contained  and  independent  of  the  outside 
world.  The  vast  number  who  thus  look  upon  the 
northern  half  of  the  continent  fail  to  remember  that,  by 
the  purchase  of  Alaska,  and  its  subsequent  development, 
testimony  was  afforded  as  to  the  exceeding  value  of 
regions  very  many  degrees  farther  north  than  the  average 
of  Canada,  and  that  to-day,  so  full  of  promise  is  the 
prospect  for  this  latest  acquirement  of  the  United  States,, 
that  no  money  payment,  however  large,  would  have  the 
faintest  hope  of  acceptance  for  its  cession  to  another 
power.  It  is  doubtful  if,  in  any  part  of  the  United 
States,  a  greater  return  has  been  realized  in  proportion  to 
the  capital  invested  or  the  effort  put  forth,  than  that 
which  has  rewarded  the  enterprises  in  the  most  northern 
section  of  the  United  States.  '  -^  i;-^  -voa  r  -t' 

So  far  as  the  climate  of  Canada  is  concerned,  it  should 
riever  be  forgotten  that,  within  the  parallels  of  latitude 
which  include  the  greater  portions  of  the  Dominion,  the 
development  in  the  United  States  has  been  the  most 
marked  Indeed,  no  development  in  the  history  of  the 
world  is  more  rapid  than  the  growth  oi  uiie  commerce  oi 


i 


¥ 

m 

•■:*# 


THE  GREATER  HALF  OF  THE  CONTINENT. 


5 


the  Great  Lakes,  which  to-day  act  as  a  barrier,  dividing 
the  two  countries,  but  which,  under  happier  conditions, 
should  be  the  bond  that  united  them.  Reference  to  the 
extent  of  this  lake  commerce  brings  out  another  startling 
comparison,  which,  creating  surprise,  shows  after  all  how 
little  the  average  man  knows  even  of  his  own  country, 
much  less  of  the  regions  alongside  of  his  own  land.  This 
statement  is^  that  the  tonnage  and  value  of  products 
which  passed  through  the  Sault  Ste.  Marie  Canal,  com- 
pressed within  seven  months  of  the  season  of  navigation  of 
1888,  equalled  that  which  passed  through  the  Suez  Canal 
in  the  entire  year.  Here,  in  the  northern  part  of  North 
America,  between  two  inland  lakes,  with  only  one  shore 
of  these  developed,  a  commerce  has  been  created  which 
equals  that  between  two  oceans,  whose  traffic  is  almost  as 
old  as  the  universe,  and  contributions  to  which  are  made 
from  every  clime  and  country  of  the  globe.  Recall,  also, 
the  fact  that  the  water  communication  of  the  lakes  is 
competed  with  by  the  most  perfectly  equipped  railway 
systems  of  the  age,  while  the  commerce  of  Suez  is  practi- 
cally without  a  competitor.  This  development  of  the 
States  and  cities  bordering  upon  the  great  lakes,  and  the 
growth  and  productive  forces  which  have  been  set  in 
motion,  not  only  on  the  shores  of  these  inland  seas,  but 
on  the  wide  stretches  of  country  tributary  to  them,  is  a 
testimony  to  the  advantages  of  a  northern  climate  that 
it  is  impossible  to  ignore.  So  magnificent  is  this  growth, 
so  significant  is  the  lesson  that  it  teaches,  that,  so  far  as 
Canada  and  its  climate  is  concerned,  a  true  appreciation 
of  her  vast  value  is,  from  the  advantage  of  her  location, 
at  length  b. ginning  to  dawn  upon  the  minds  of  observant 


J 


i 


6 


THE  aREATER  HALF  OF  THE  CONTINENT. 


men.  The  place  that  she  should  occupy,  as  the  greater 
and  northern  half  of  the  continent,  can  be  no  longer 
denied  to  her.  A  proper  estimate  will  show  Canada  to 
be  a  country  having  few  equals  in  extent,  none  in  riches 
of  resource,  in  accessibility,  ease  of  interior  communica- 
tion, and,  notwithstaixjing  the  smile  that  lightens  up  the 
face  of  the  reader,  none  superior  to  her  in  the  advantages 
of  climate. 

Perhaps  the  best  test  of  climatic  advantage  is  found  in 
the  ability  to  produce,  in  the  largest  quantities,  and  of 
the  best  quality,  the  most  valuable  and  the  most  univer- 
sally used  article  of  commerce.  Certainly,  in  this  respect, 
there  is  nothing  surpassing  the  article  of  wheat,  which 
may  be  said  to  be  the  basis  of  civilized  existence.  The 
steady  movement  toward  the  north  of  the  wheat-producing 
regions  of  this  continent  is  remarkable.  Wheat  is  a 
plant  so  delicate,  and  so  easily  affected  by  frost  and  ad- 
verse conditions,  that  it  might  be  supposed  to  be  cultured 
safely  only  in  the  most  temperate  zones.  Yet  the  move- 
ment of  the  wheat- producing  areas  toward  3  the  North 
Pole  has  been  as  steady  as  the  movement  of  the  needle 
in  the  compass  in  that  direction.  Within  the  memory  of 
many  readers  of  this  publication,  the  Gennessee  Valley, 
in  the  State  of  New  York,  was  the  great  wheat-producing 
region.  So  much  so  was  this  the  case  that  Rochester  was 
named  the  "  Flour  City,"  from  the  number  of  its  flouring 
mills,  and  the  activity  of  its  commerce  in  that  direction. 
Since  then  it  has  changed  the  manner  of  spelling  the 
word  which  designates  it,  and  though  it  is  still  called  the 
**  Flower  City,"  it  is  because  of  the  development  of  the 
nursery  and  seed  interests,  which  so  adorn  and  benefit  it, 


eater 
mger 
da  to 
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inica- 
p  the 
itages 

indin 
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niver- 
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The 
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Uing  the 
jailed  the 
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jenefit  it, 


THE  GREATER  HALF  OF  THE  CONTINENT.  7 

and  the  rest  of  the  country.     No  longer  is  Rochester  the 
centre  of  the   wheat-producing  areas.     Westward  these 
took  their  way,  first  to  the  valleys  of  the  Ohio,  then  to 
the  prairies  of  Illinois  and  lowa,  until  now,  in  the  most 
northern  tier  of  States  and  territories,  is  found  the  great 
sources  of  national  wealth  in  the  production  of  this  great 
cereal.     The  milling  activities  of  Minnesota,  the  marvel- 
ous railroad  development  in  the  Northwest,  both  toward 
the  west  and  north,  and   more  recently  toward  the  east, 
for  the  special   accommodation  of  this  flour  and  wheat 
trade,  tell  the  «tory,  that  so  far  as  climatic  advantage  is 
concerned,  wheat  has  found  its  greatest  success  in  States 
to  the  extreme  north.     Is  it  to  be  supposed  that  there  is 
something   magical   in    the    49th   parallel   that    bounds 
Minnesota  towards  the  north  '{     Its  steady  trend  in  this 
direction  for  so  many  hundreds  of  miles  makes  it  highly 
probable   that,   beyond   it,   wheat   should  be  produced, 
largely  p,nd  profitably.     Indeed,  this  is  certainly  so ;  for 
it  so  happens   that,  north  of  the  Minnesota  line,  and 
within  the  Canadian  territories,  are  wheat  areas  possess- 
ing all  the  advantages  of  the  regions  to  the  south,  but,ia 
richness,  fertility  and  extent  infinitely  greater.     It  would 
be  a  startling  statement  to  make,  as  showing  the  advan- 
tages of  the  much  derided  Canadian  climate,  that  even  in 
its  extreme  northern  latitudes,  the  Dominion  possesses  a 
greater  wheat-producing  area  than  does  the  entire  United 
States  ;  that  the  soil  of  this  wheat  area  is  richer,  will  last 
longer,  and  will  produce  a  higher  average  of  better  wheat 
than  can  be  produced  anywhere  else  on  the  continent  if 
not  in  the  world.     Wheat  is  known  to  have  been  grown 
in  the  vicinity  of  numerous  Hudson's  Bay  Company's 


THE  GREATER  HALF  OF  THE  CONTINENT. 


I 


stations  for  twenty  consecutive  years,  without  rotation, 
without  fertilization,  and  annually  producing  crops  aver- 
aging thirty  bushels  to  the  acre  ! 

If,  therefore,  the  production  of  this  most  valuable  of 
cereais  is  the  truest  test  of  climatic  advantage ;  if  the 
tenderness  of  the  wheat  plant  in  its  cultivation  is  a  deli- 
cate standard  of  conditions,  as  it  really  is,  it  is  submitted 
that  the  prejudice  as  against  the  Canadian  climate  should, 
in  the  first  place,  prevail  no  longer  than  it  prevails  against 
the  climate  in  similar  latitudes  in  the  United  States, 
where  the  greatest  success  has  been  achieved ;  and, 
second,  that  the  advantages  which  the  northernmost 
portions  of  Canada  possess  over  even  parallels  far  to  the 
South,  should  be  recognized.  These  advantages  are 
found  in  the  often  forgotten  circumstance  that  climate  is 
much  more  the  result  of  altitude  than  it  is  of  latitude. 
According  to  Humboldt,  Europe  has  a  mean  elevation  of 
six  hundred  and  seventy-one  feet,  and  North  America  a 
mean  elevation  of  seven  hundred  and  forty-eight  feet.  It 
is  a  significant  circumstance  that  the  Canadian  portion 
of  North  America  has  an  altitude  of  only  three-hundred 
feet.  In  the  extreme  northwest  of  Canada,  the  falling  ofi^ 
from  the  height  of  land  toward  the  vast  body  of  water 
known  as  Hudson's  Bay  is  shown  in  the  fact,  that  from 
even  within  the  Minnesota  line  the  rivers  all  begin  to  run 
towards  the  north.  This  low  altitude,  in  its  influence 
upon  the  climate,  is  second  only  to  the  etf'ect  of  the 
marine  currents,  which  are  singularly  favorable  to  Canada. 
These  influences  are  shown  in  the  startling  fact  that  the 
mean  temperature  of  Hudson's  Bay  is  three  degrees 
warmer  during  the  winter  than  that  of  Lake  Superior ; 


1 


THE  GREATER  HALF  OF  THE  CONTINENT. 


ft 


and  that  it  is  on  the  southern  and  western  shores  of  Lake 
Superior  where  the  most  important  development  of 
American  enterprises  has  taken  place, — developments 
w  that  have  yielded  in  lumlier,  in  iron  and  copper,  riches  of 
greater  magnitude  than  produced  elsewhere  in  the 
country  ;  and  within  parallels  of  latitude  included  in  this 
lake,  an  agricultural  development  more  remarkable  than 
that  elsewhere  in  the  world.  The  moderating  influences 
of  vast  bodies  of  fresh  water  that  never  fre3ze  over  are 
well  known.  In  the  great  chain  of  lakes  that  surround 
Canada,  and  the  ^  ast  number  of  lakes  and  rivers  that 
diversify  her  surfiice,  there  is  a  fresh  water  area  of  one 
hundred  and  thirty  thousand  square  miles,  and  as  above 
stated,  comprising  nearly  one-half  of  the  fresh  water  of 
the  globe.  The  effect  upon  the  climate  of  this  vast  aggre- 
gation is  most  beneficial,  so  that  in  altitude,  and  in  other 
influences  that  mitigate  the  extreme  northern  location  of 
the  land,  there  are  found  considerations  of  the  greatest 
weight.  These  influences  are  shown  in  the  warmer 
climate  of  the  great  territory  of  Alberta,  which  lies 
directly  north  of  Wyoming,  from  the  latter  of  which  and 
into  the  formsr,  stock  is  being  regularly  driven  at  the 
beginning  of  each  winter,  because  of  the  pi  ence  within 
the  Canadian  border,  the  year  round,  of  an  a  mdance  of 
grass.  The  experience  of  last  winter  showed  conclusively 
that  while  throughout  Manitoba  and  the  Canadian  north- 
west territories  the  winter  of  1888  was  not  excessively 
severe,  so  far  south  as  Iowa  and  Nebraska  the  severest 
cold  was  felt,  and  as  far  east  as  even  New  York  in  the 
famous  blizzard,  which  never  found  its  equal  even  in 
Winnipeg,  the   most  northern  of  Canadian  cities.     It  is 


■i 


I 


10 


I'flfi  GREATER  flAtF  OP  THE  CONTINENT. 


true  that  in  the  northwestern  portions  of  Canada  the 
winters  are  long  ;  that  the  frost  is  severe  and  continuous ; 
but  it  is  equally  true  that  the  climate  is  dry  and 
invigorating.  •    ^ 

But  aside  from  this  continued  severity  of  the  climate 
in  the  winter,  there  are  compensations  and  advantages  in 
the  summer  months  in  the  extreme  northern  region 
of  Canada  which  must  not  be  ignored.  For  instance, 
what  would  be  thought  of  a  device  that  should  provide, 
underneath  the  whole  surfa^.^  of  a  vast  and  fertile  wheat- 
producing  area,  of  a  well-spring  of  moisture,  that  should 
continuously  exude,  and  feel  the  delicate  tendrils  of  roots 
that  the  wheat  plant  sends  down  into  the  earth  for  sus- 
tenance ?  Yet  this  is  precisely  what  nature  has  provided 
in  the  thousands  of  square  miles  of  wheat  areas  of  the 
Canadian  no)'thwest.  Ages  of  long  winters,  continuous 
and  often  severe  cold,  have  produced  a  frost  line  in  the 
earth  far  down  below  the  surface,  which  being  thawed 
out  during  the  summer  months  is  full  of  force.  What 
seems,  at  first  glance,  a  barrier  to  the  productive  powers 
of  nature,  is,  in  this  case,  found  to  be  contributory  in  the 
highest  degree  to  man's  advantage.  I'or  ^his  vast  area  of 
ice,  far  enough  below  the  surface  to  permit  the  giowth  of 
plants,  holds  in  suspense  and  readiness  for  the  iaiid  abova, 
the  needed  element  of  moisture,  constant  and  assured, 
which  in  other  regions  comes  only  in  the  rains  and  dews 
that  fall  from  the  sky — &  supply  unceitain  and  uncon- 
trollable. But  there  is  still  another  advantage  in  these 
northern  wheat-fields  of  Canada,  incident  to  the  climate ; 
and  that  is,  that  while  these  latitudes  imply  long  wir  ter 
days,  they  equally    imply   the  longest  days  iii  summer. 


■^. 


TllU  GRKATEU  HALF   OF  THE  CONTINENT. 


11 


'0, 

m. 


Thus,  there  is  an  average  of  two  hours  per  day  more  of 
sunshine  during  the  period  of  the  grow^th  of  wheat  in  the 
Canadian  northwest,  than  is  vouchsafed  in  any  other 
locality  where  wheat  can  be  produced.  Not  only  is  two 
hours  of  sunshine  in  each  day  an  inestimatable  advantage, 
but  the  sun  is  stronger  and  more  forceful  at  this  period, 
and  in  this  region,  not  only  helping  rapidly  forward  the 
ripening  process,  but  the  heat  is  continuously  sufficient  to 
cause  an  exudation  of  the  moisture  from  the  ice  in  the 
ground  beneath.  So  that,  in  this  far  north  land,  despised 
in  the  minds  of  many  for  its  cold  and  sterility,  conditions 
unite  to  make  it  the  most  productive,  and  the  most  valu- 
able of  all  the  wheat  lands  upon  the  continent.  It  >;vould 
seem  as  if  a  conjunction  had  been  formed  by  the  heavens 
above  and  the  earth  beneath  to  illustrate,  in  the  highest 
degree,  the  productive  forces  of  nature,  in  regions  where 
man  least  expected  this  development.  It  so  happens, 
also,  that  the  soil  which  enjoys  these  advantages  of 
moisture  beneath,  and  iong,  forceful  rays  from  above,  is 
particularly  rich  and  inexhaustibb.  Lord  Dufferin,  an 
observant  and  reliable  authority,  said  that  throughout 
his  whole  journey  of  weeks  through  the  Canadian  north- 
west, he  was  constantly  reminded  of  the  English  kitchen 
gardens  in  the  vicinity  of  London.  Cauliflowers  grow 
large  enough  to  serve  for  three  meals  for  an  ordinary 
family,  while  potatoes  four  and  five  pounds  in  weight  are 
nothing  extraordinary.  The  average  crop  of  wheau  in 
1887,  in  Manitoba,  was  thirty  bushels  to  the  acre,  while 
nowhere  eke  on  the  continent  did  ii  exceed  twenty 
bushels  to  the  acre,  and  in  Minnesota  and  Dakota  did  not 
average  more  than  fifteen  bushels.     A  mere  handful  of 


:v>i.' 


^ 


II 


12 


THE  GREATER  HALF  OF  THE  CONTINENT. 


settlers  in  Manitoba  produced  in  that  year,  a  surplus  of 
twelve  millions  of  bushels  of  wheat,  seven  millions  of 
barley,  and  two  millions  of  bushels  of  potatoes — the  latter 
crop  being  a  failure  so  great  in  the  States  as  to  comnand 
throughout  the  greater  portions  of  the  year  a  rate  as  high 
as  $1  per  bushel,  while  at  points  of  production  within 
Manitoba  they  could  be  had  for  one-eignth  of  that  price. 
It  is  true  that  early  frosts  in  August  of  the  present  year 
have  partially  injured  the  crop  of  1888,  and  that  there  >s 
this  contingency  always  present  in  the  northern  regions ; 
but  early  frosts  are  equally  dangerous  in  Minnesota  and 
Dakota,  while  this  year,  as  far  east  as  Massachusetts,  there 
was  serious  damage  done.  There  is  no  locality  but  has  its 
disadvantages  with  its  advantages;  but  taking  all  the 
circumstances  in  view,  it  may  be  very  well  claimed  for 
these  northern  wheat-producing  regions  that  they  are  full 
of  the  greatest  promise,  as  being  in  the  line  of  the  steady 
movement  north  of  this  most  valuable  product,  and  that 
they  cannot  fail  to  have  a  most  importarxb  inliuence  in 
the  world's  future  supply  of  the  staff  of  life. 

But  it  must  not  be  inferred  that  the  climate  of 
Canada  is  represented  by  the  regions  to  the  extreme 
north  which  have  just  been  referred  to.  The  Dominion, 
from  its  vast  extent,  as  has  been  truly  said,  "possesses  all 
the  climates  of  Europe,  from  the  Mediterranean  to  the 
Arctic  Ocean,  as  might  be  expected,  seeing  that  it  extends 
from  the  latitude  of  Rome,  in  Italy,  to  that  of  the  North 
Cape,  in  Norway,  and  is  of  almost  equal  art)a."  The  gulf 
stream,  i  the  Atlantic  coast,  and  the  Japanese  current  in 
the  Paci  c,  are  both  singularly  favorable  to  Canada.  In 
the  Province  of  British  Columbia  the  thermometer  in  the 


4 


mkmmm 


THE  GREATER  HALF  OP  THE  CONTINENT. 


13 


summer  months  ranges  from  eighty  degrees  to   ninety 
degrees,  while  in  winter,  the  cold   rarely    goes    below 
twenty-two  degrees.      On  the  Atlantic  the  climate   of 
Nova  Scotia,  and  New  Brunswick   is  in   no  respect  less 
desirable  in  winter  than  that  of  Massachusetts  and  Maine. 
St.  John,  the  chief  city  of  New  Brunswick,  is  in  the  lati- 
tude of  Milan,  Lyons,  and  Venice,  and  tne  whole  province 
is  within  parallels  which  include  Belgium,  Holland  and 
the  German  Empire,  where  populations  are  most  dense. 
Indeed,  for  more  than  half  of  the  summer  the  maritime 
provinces  are  most  delightful  resorts,  as  shown  in  the 
steady  stream  of  summer  tourists  that  are  settling  in  even 
north  of  Mount  Desert  in  Maine.     In  Ontario  the  climatic 
conditions  created  by  the  practical  encirclement  of  the 
great  lakes  are  especially  favorable,  and  such  stretches  as 
are  included  in  the  Niagara  Peninsula,  and  those  bordering 
upon  Lake  Erie,  force  themselves  upon  the  attention  of 
th'd   student    of    North    America    as    among  the  most 
favored  spots  on  the  whole  continent.     So  far  as  climate, 
then,  is  concerned,  there  is  no  one  thing  in  all  the  cata- 
logue of  advantages  which  Canada  possesses  that  is  of 
greater  value ;    for,  in  its  variety,  it  favors  the  produc- 
tion of  numerous  cereals  and  crops,  and,  in  its  forcefulness 
and  vigor  it  stimulates  the  best  efforts  of  its  population. 
Malte   Brun  said  of  these  regions:     "Everything  is  in 
proper  keeping  for  the  developement  of   the   combined 
physical  and  mental  energies  of  man.     There  are  to  be 
found  at  once  the  hardihood  of  character  which  conquers 
difficulties,  the  climate  which  stimulates  exertion,  and  the 
natural  advantages   which   reward  enterprise.      Nature 
has  m«.rked  out  this  country  for  eicalted  destinies  T 


14 


THE  GREATER  HALF  OF  THE  CONTINENT. 


9" 


fy. 
1 


The  immeasureable  content  with  which  the  average 
citizen  of  the  United  States  contemplates  tht  fact  that,  as 
between  the  Atlantic  and  Pacific,  there  are  no  stretches  of 
territory  that  do  not  contribute  to  his  greatness,  can 
equally  be  shared  by  the  Canadian.  But  the  American 
has  limitations  on  the  north  by  a  line  drawn  at  the  St. 
Lawrence  and  the  Lakes,  and  along  the  forty-ninth 
parallel,  against  which  his  commerce  beats  as  against  an 
impenetrable  wall,  and  like  a  wave  rolls  back  upon  itself 
A  night's  journey  from  Boston  or  New  York,  and  the 
limit  of  his  buasted  areas  towards  the  north  are  reached 
two  nights  and  a  day,  ever,  from  Chicago,  in  the  centre  of 
his  territory,  and  the  ground  to  the  north  covered  by  the 
trade  of  that  great  city  is  exhausted.  Not  so  with  the 
Canadian.  Not  only  does  his  territory  stietch  two  hun- 
dred miles  further  out  into  the  Atlantic,  on  the  Nova 
Scotia  coast,  than  the  average  of  the  United  States — not 
only  does  it  then  stretch  across  a  vast  continent  of  un- 
told wealth  to  the  Pacific,  on  the  coast  of  British 
Columbia,  but  extends  as  far  north  asthe  Arctic  Ocean. 
Take  in  the  stupendous  figures  included  in  these  measure- 
ments. Adopting  the  eighty  -fifth  degree  of  longitude  as 
a  centre,  Canada  stretches  west  to  the  one-hundred  and 
thirtieth  degree,  and  east  to  the  forty- second  degree — 
forty-five  degrees  on  one  side  and  forty- three  degrees  on 
the  other.  North  and  south  the  Dominion  stretches  from 
the  fifty-first  degree  of  latitude,  south  to  the  forty-second 
degree,  and  north  to  the  frozen  sea.  George  Johnson,  the 
accomplished  head  of  the .  statistical  department  of  the 
Dominion  government  at  Ottawa,  whose  disposition  and 
ability    to    furnish    the    fullest    information   regarding 


THE  GREATER  HALF  OF  THE  CONTINENT. 


15 


average 
b  that,  as 
etches  of 
less,  can 
Lmerican 
t  the  St. 
tj^-ninth 
gainst  an 
Dn  itself 

• 

and  the 
reached 
centre  of 
i  by  the 
^ith  the 
w^o  hun- 
le  Nova 
ies — not 
t  of  un- 

British 
;  Ocean, 
leasure- 
Itude  as 
'ed  and 
egree — 
frees  on 
es  from 
-second 
son,  the 

of  the 
ion  and 
yarding 


Canada  are  unequalled,  makes  some  comparisons  regard- 
ing the  size  of  the  Dominion  that   are  very  instructive. 

He  says  :       -  ::r.>:.:..^.':.-.r.-:-''^':y^,,  \..  ..'K>r--.r-  ^  .y-,.-"  •  ::».>'i  -.'-^-'.^^-.m  ^¥■^:?im  " 

*'  It  is  difficult  to  afford  an  adequate  coiiCeption  of  the  vastnesg 
of  this  country,  Engiaud  Wales  and  Scotland  form  together  an  area 
of  88,000  square  miles  ;  you  could  cut  forty  such  areas  out  of 
Canada.  New  South  Wales  contains  309,175  square  miles,  and  is 
larger  by  162  square  miles  than  France,  continental  Italy  and  Sicily. 
Canada  would  make  eleven  countries  the  size  ot  New  South  Wales. 
There  are  (in  extent),three  British  Indias  in  Canada.and  still  enough 
left  over  to  make  a  Queensland  and  a  Victoria.  The  German 
Empire  could  be  carved  out  of  Canada  and  fifteen  more  countries  of 
the  same  lize.  : 

In  the  light  of  such  comparisons,  the  statement  made 
in  a  previous  page,  that  Canada  comprises  forty  per  cent, 
of  the  area  of  the  entire  British  Empire,  is  net  so  incre- 
dible as  at  first  sight  appears.  Judged  by  standards  of 
American  areas,  the  com])arison  was  quite  as  interesting. 
Thus,  the  province  of  Ontario,  the  fairest  land  of  all  the 
North  American  continent,  is  larger  than  the  six  New 
England  States,  with  New  York,  New  Jeresy,  Pennsyl- 
vania and  Maryland,  by  twenty-five  thousand  square 
miles.  Ontario,  extending  over  ten  degrees  of  latitude, 
and  twenty  degrees  of  longitude,  the  single  province, 
covers  an  area  larger  by  ten  thousand  square  miles  than 
Ohio,  Indiana,  Illinois  and  Michigan  combined;  larger 
than  Iowa,  Minnesota  and  Wisconsin  by  eleven  thousand 
square  miles.  The  basin  of  the  Hudson's  Bay  comprises 
two  million  square  miles,  in  which  are  the  fertile  plains  of 
the  Saskatchewan  Valley,  measuring  five  hundred  thous- 
and square  miles,  and  which,  according  to  Lord  Selkirk, 
are  capable  alone  of  supporting  thirty  millions  of  people* 


S'       i 


"•T\ 


16 


THE  GREATER  HALF  OF  THE  CONTINENT. 


That  he  was  right  in  this  contention  is  proved  by  the  inal- 
cations  of  the  enormous  productive  forces  of  this  region 
since  developed ;  and  that  a  European  area,  similarly 
situated  east  of  the  tenth  degree  of  longitude,  compre- 
hends very  nearly  the  whole  of  England  and  Ireland,  the 
northeast  corner  of  France,  the  whole  of  Belgium  and 
Holland,  and  the  greater  part  of  the  valley  of  the  Rhine. 
The  vast  expanse  of  Canada  may  be  judged  by  the 
extent  of  her  rivers  and  bays.  The  St.  John,  in  New 
Brunswick,  the  largest  river  on  the  Atlantic  coast  south 
of  the  St.  Lawrence,  is  five  hundred  miles  in  length,  and 
is  navigable  for  two  hundred  and  thirty  miles.  The  St. 
Lawrence,  one  of  the  noblest  of  the  great  rivers  in  the 
world,  has  a  length  of  seven  hundred  and  fifty  miles,  en- 
tirely navigable.  The  Ottawa,  which  is  a  mere  affluent 
of  the  St.  Lawrence,  joining  it  six  hundred  miles  from  its 
mouth,  is  in  itself  five  hundred  and  fifty  miles  long.  The 
chain  of  great  lakes  is  familiar  to  all  who  look  at  the 
map,  but  not  so,  to  the  north,  in  an  almost  unknown 
land,  are  the  lakes  Shebandowam,  and  Rainy  lake  and 
river,  a  magnificent  body  of  water,  three  hundred  miles 
broad  and  two  hundred  miles  long.  The  Lake  of  the 
Woods,  too,  is  almost  unknown  outside  of  Canada,  yet  is 
a  vast  stretch  of  water  of  almost  marvellous  beauty,  espe- 
cially its  westernmost  portion,  of  80  miles,  consisting  of 
land-locked  channels — a  lacustrine  paradise.  Then  comes 
the  Winnipeg  River,  of  which  Lord  Dufferin  said : 
"  Whose  existence  in  the  heart  and  centre  of  the  conti- 
nent is  itself  one  of  nature's  most  delightful  miracles,  so 
beautiful  and  varied  are  its  rocky  banks,  its  tufted 
islands ;  so  broad,  so  deep,  so  fervid  is  the  volume  of  its 


"  iiwibe 


■■^jr^' 


■  -wwLii  f-Mwryu' 


THE  GRKATER   HALF   OF  THE   CONTINENT. 


17 


the  inai- 
is  region 
jimilarly 

compre- 
and,  the 
nm  and 
e  Rhine. 

by  the 
in  New- 
it  south 
^th,  and 
The  St. 

in  the 
les,  en- 
affluent 
rom  its 
?.    The 

at  the 
known 
fe  and 
I  miles 
of  the 
,  yet  is 
',  espe- 
ing  of 
comes 

said  : 
conti- 
iles,  so 

bufted 
of  its 


waters,  the  extent  of  their  lake-like  expansion,  and  the 
tremendous  power  of  its  rapids."  Here  empties  the  great 
Red  River  of  the  North,  starting  from  the  northern  por- 
tions of  Minnesota,  and  the  equally  great  Assiniboine,  one 
five  hundred  miles  and  the  other  four  hundred  and  eighty 
miles  in  length.  Far  beyond  these  is  the  Lake  Winnipeg, 
a  fresh  water  sea  800  miles  long,  from  the  northwest 
ancrle  of  which  starts  the  Saskatchewan.  The  entrance 
to  this  noble  river  has  been  called  "the  Gateway  of 
the  Northwest,"  for  here  is  a  navigable  stream,  1,500 
miles  in  length,  flowing  nearly  due  west  and  east, 
between  alluvial  banks  of  the  richest  soil.  Reaching  the 
Rocky  Mountains  by  this  stream,  beyond  this  range  are 
tho  Athabasca  and  the  Mackenzie  rivers,  the  navigation 
of  the  latter  alone  exceeding  2,500  miles,  while  the  Frazer 
River  and  the  Thompson  River  to  Vancouver  are  streams 
of  great  magnitude.  This  enumeration  of  principal 
streams  will  give  some  faint  idea  of  the  vast  areas  of 
land  through  which  they  flow.  But  no  better  idea  of 
magnitude  can  be  formed  of  the  extent  of  Canada  than 
by  the  contemplation  of  the  Hudson's  Bay.  This  bay 
would  seem  like  a  projection  of  Providence  for  the  good 
of  mankind,  by  which  is  introduced  into  the  heart  of  the 
continent  an  ocean  in  itself,  mid-way  between  the  great 
Atlantic  and  Pacific  ocean?.  Fancy  a  bay  so  long  as  to 
extend  from  New  York  to  Chicago,  so  wide  as  to  extend 
from  Washington  to  the  lakes  projected  like  a  huge 
tongue  of  sea  into  the  land.  What  would  remain  of  the 
fairest  part  of  the  United  States  ?  Yet  this  is  the  pro- 
portion of  the  Hudson's  Bay,  say  1,000  miles  long  and  GOO 
miles  wide,  running  from  ':he  north  into  the  heart  of 


■t4 


m 


18 


THS  GREATER  HALF  OF  THE  CONTINENT. 


Canada,  carrying  with  it  enormous  riches  in  sea  wealth 
for  the  supply  of  fish  food  so  greatly  benefiting,  if  per- 
mitted, the  prairie  States  to  the  south. 

Having  almost  exhausted  the  space  allotted,  by  a  de- 
scription of  the  climate  and  of  extent  of  Canada,  the 
reader  must  be  carried  rapidly  forward  to  a  consideration 
of  the  marvellous  resources  which  this  northern  half  of 
the  continent  contains.  Incidentally,  in  describing  the 
climate  of  the  northwestern  portions  of  Canada,  allusion 
has  been  made  to  the  agricultural  possibilities  of  that 
region.  There  are  comparatively  few  portions  of  Canada, 
however,  but  possess  great  possibilities  in  this  direction. 
The  Province  of  Ontario,  which  will  be  recalled  as  cover- 
ing so  vast  an  area,  is  peculiarly  rich  in  this  respect. 
The  excellent  statistician  of  the  Ontario  Government, 
Mr.  Archibald  Blue,  at  Toronto,  says  of  his  native 
province:  ^  ^  ^^    a    ^ 

"  But  Ontario  has  something  more  to  boast  of  than  broad  ex- 
panse. It  has  a  fertile  soil,  an  invigorating  climate,  vast  forests  of 
merchantable  timber,  treasures  of  mineral  wealth,  and  water  power 
of  limitless  capacity.  It  has  extensive  areas  which  grow  a  better 
sample  and  a  larger  yield  of  the  staple  cereals  than  any  other 
portion  of  the  continent ;  and  it  has  more  extensive  areas  not  yet 
brought  under  cultivation  which  may  be  converted  into  grazing 
fields  of  unsurpassed  richness,  suitable  for  the  production  of  the 
best  qualities  of  butter  and  cheese." 

In  a  report  on  the  trade  between  the  United  States 
and  the  British  Possessions  in  North  America,  made  by 
J.  R.  Larned,  of  the  United  States  Treasury  Department, 
in  1871,  it  was  observed  that 


i< 


Ontario  possesses  a  fertility  with  which  no  part  of  New  Eng- 
land can  a'j  all  compare,  and  that  particular  secliou  of  it  around 


THE  GREATER  HALF  OF  THE  CONTrNENT. 


19 


weaUh 
if  per- 

Y  a  de- 
Lcla,  the 
oration 
half  of 
ng  the 
illusion 
)f  that 

anada, 
'ection. 
cover- 
espect. 
nment, 
native 

•oad  ex- 
•rests  of 
r  power 
I  better 

Y  other 
not  yet 
grazing 

of  the 

States 
de  by 
iment, 


r  Eng- 
iround 


which  the  circle  of  the  Great  Lakes  is  swept  forces  itself  upon  the 
notice  of  the  student  of  the  American  map  as  one  of  the  most 
favored  spots  of  ihe  whole  Contineni,  where  population  ought  to 
breed  with  almost  Belgian  fecundity.  * 


•  iikfc 


Another  American,  whose  \vorthy  eminence  none  will 
dispute,  has  also  described  Ontario,  The  Hon.  David  A. 
Wells,  in  the  stately  pages  of  the  North  American 
Review  of  many  years  ago,  wrote  as  follows  : 

"  North  of  Lakes  Erie  and  Ontario  and  the  River  St.  Lawrence, 
east  of  Lake  Huron,  b.uth  of  the  forty-fifth  parallel,  and  included 
mainly  within  the  Dominion  Province  of  Ontario,  there  is  as  fair  a 
country  as  exists  on  the  North  American  continent,  nearly  as  large 
in  area  as  New  York,  Pennsylvania  and  Ohio  combined,  and  equal 
if  not  superior  to  those  States  as  a  whole  in  its  agricultural  capa- 
city. It  is  the  natural  habitat  on  this  continent  of  the  combing- 
wool  sheep,  withoat  a  full,  cheap,  and  reliable  supply  of  the  wool 
of  which  species  the  great  worsted  manufacturing  industries  of  the 
country  cannot  prosper,  or,  we  should  rather  say,  exist.  It  is  the 
land  where  grows  the  finest  barley,  which  the  brewing  interests  of 
the  United  States  must  have  if  it  ever  expects  to  rival  Great  Britain 
in  its  present  annual  export  of  over  eleven  million  dollars  worth  of 
malt  products.  It  raises  and  grazes  the  finest  of  cattle,  with  quali- 
ties especially  desiraiJe  to  make  good  the  deterioration  of  stock  in 
other  sections  ;  and  its  climatic  conditions,  created  by  an  almost 
encirclement  of  the  great  lakes,  especially  fit  it  to  grow  men.  Such 
a  country  is  one  of  the  greatest  gifts  of  Providence  to  the  human 
race,  bettor  than  bonanzas  of  silver,  or  livers  whose  sands  contain 
gold."  ^       "-'"- 

It  is  unnecessary  to  go  into  detail  as  to  the  advantages 
which  the  provinces  of  Ontario,  Quebec,  New  Brunswick, 
Nova  Scotia,  and  Prince  Edward  Island  claim,  because 
space  will  not  permit,  except  to  say  that  no  country  in 
the  world  possesses  a  more  favorable  variety  of  climate, 
better  soil,  a  more  thrifty  or  a  more  industrious  people 


20 


THE   GXEATEK   HALF   OF  THE   CONTINENT. 


than  these  provinces,  many  of  them  possessing  great 
geographical  advantages.  This  is  especially  the  case  v/ith 
Nova  Scotia.  This  province  projects  out  from  the  main- 
land into  the  Atlantic  Ocean  like  an  immense  wharf, 
being  almost  surrounded  by  tidal  waters,  no  portion  of 
the  interior  being  at  a  greater  distance  than  thirty  miles 
from  the  coast.  All  of  her  coasts  are  indented  and  pro- 
vided with  fine  harbors,  accessible  at  all  seasons  of  the 
year.  Its  geographical  position  causes  a  variation  of  the 
climate  of  the  country  of  great  advantage,  and  as  a  . 
source  of  siupply  in  fruit,  oats,  potatoes,  and  numerous 
other  agricultural  product-,  should  be  of  the  greatest 
value  to  the  densely  populated  manufacturing  centres  of 
New  England. 

But,  great  as  may  be  the  agricultural  possibilities  of 
the  Dominion  of  Canada,  and  the  wealth  in  her  vast 
wheat- producing  areas  that  these  may  yield  at  the  bid 
ding  of  man,  it  is  in  the  natural  resources  of  the  country 
that  a  still  greater  promise  is  found.  In  the  matter  of 
the  fisheries  alone,  Canada  stands  unrivalled.  Very  few 
realize  the  vast  stretches  ol  coast  line  along  which  Canada 
controls  the  greatest  fisheries  in  the  world.  Bounded  as 
the  Dominion  is  by  ihree  oceans,  it  has  beside  its  numer- 
ous inland  seas  over  five  thousand  five  hundred  miles  of 
seacoast,  washed  by  wateis  abounding  in  the  most  valu* 
able  fishes  of  all  kinds.  The  older  provinces  of  the  con- 
federation have  two  thousand  five  hundred  miles  of  se^^ 
coast  and  inland  seas,  while  the  si-acoast  of  British 
Columbia  alone  is  over  three  thousaml  miles  in  extent ! 
It  is  impossible  to  take  these  figures  in  and  all  that  they 
imply  without  realizing  at  oucQ  the  euormous  magnituclQ 


THE  GUKATEK  HALF  OF  THE  CONTINENT. 


81 


of  this  interest.  But  it  is  not  alone  in  the  matter  of  ex- 
tent of  seacoasb  line  that  Canada  has  a  surplus  in  tish 
wealth ;  but,  in  the  extreme  northern  location  which  she 
occupies  she  possesses  an  advantage  which  is  of  immense 
value,  and  this  is  that  the  fish  are  not  only  better  and 
firmer  in  northern  climates,  but  that  the  supply  of  fish 
food,  owing  to  the  extreme  northern  location,  is  inex- 
haustible. As  has  been  truly  said  by  Mr,  Harvey,  "  the 
Arctic  currents  which  wash  the  coast  of  Labrador,  New- 
foundland, and  Canada,  chilling  the  atmosphere  and 
bearing  on  its  bosom  huge  ice  argosies,  is  the  source  of 
the  vast  fish  wealth  which  has  been  drawn  on  for  ages, 
and  which  promises  to  continue  for  ages  to  come." 
Wanting  this  cold  river  of  the  ocean,  the  fish  which  now 
crowd  the  northern  seas  would  be  entirely  absent.  Pro- 
fessor Hind  says :  "  The  Arctic  seas  and  the  great  rivers 
which  they  send  forth  swarm  with  minute  forms  of  life, 
constituting  in  many  places  a  living  mass,  a  vast  ocoan  of 
living  slime.  The  all-pervading  life  which  exists  here 
affords  the  true  solution  of  the  problem  which  has  so 
often  presented  itself  to  those  investigating  deep-sea 
fisheries,  the  source  of  food  which  gives  sustenance  to  the 
countless  millions  of  fish."  The  harvest  of  the  sea  has 
not  yet  been  gleaned  to  the  same  extent  as  the  harvest  of 
the  land  ;  but  this  fact  may  be  taken  for  granted,  that  of 
all  the  countries  in  the  world,  and  of  ajl  the  riches  qf 
these  countries,  nothing  can  be  made  more  useful,  in  q. 
higher  form,  towil^rd  sustaining  life,  or  to  a  greater  extent, 
than  the  vast  wealth  of  the  fisheries  of  Canada.  They 
are  practicilly  inexhaustible,  because  the  cold  current  of 
the  north  brings  with  it  the  food  on  whigh  these  fish 


22 


THE  GREATER  HALF  OF  THE  CONTINENT. 


thrive,  and  the  supply  is  one  that  can  never  fail.  The 
seacoasts  of  the  Atlantic  and  the  St.  Lawrence  on  the 
east,  the  long  stretches  of  the  Hudson's  Bay  coast  in  the 
centre,  and  the  three  thousand  miles  of  coast  line  of 
British  Columbia  on  the  west,  are  in  themselves  a  great 
possession,  while  the  fresh  water  fish  of  the  great  lakes 
of  the  northwest,  especially  in  the  supply  of  the  prairie 
States,  should  be  relatively  as  great  a  confribution  to  the 
sustentation  of  human  life  as  are  the  supplies  of  cattle 
upon  the  plains. 

In  timber,  Canada  possesses  a  wealth  of  very  great  im- 
portance to  the  United  States.  When  the  wide  stretches 
of  treelees  prairies  which  this  country  contains  are 
recalled,  and  the  rapidly  disappearing  forests  within  the 
United  States,  it  is  with  a  sense  of  satisfaction  that  one 
turns  to  the  northern  half  of  the  continent,  containing  as 
it  does  the  finest  forests  and  the  greatest  supply  of  this 
most  essential  element  of  human  protection  and  comfort. 
Within  the  catalogue  of  the  woods  of  Canada,  there  are 
sixty-five  species  of  forest  trees,  including  nineteen  of  the 
pine  family,  while  the  space  covered  by  timber  within  the 
Dominion  is  something  enormous.  Excepting  the  great 
triangular  prairie  east  of  the  Rocky  Mountains,  lying 
between  the  United  States  boundary  and  a  line  drawn 
from  the  Red  River  to  the  upper  Peace  River,  the  whole 
of  Canada,  up  to  the  northern  limit  of  the  growth  of  trees, 
presents  one  vast  forest  area,  except  where  it  has  been 
cleared  by  the  hand  of  man.  It  is  needless  to  further 
dilate  upon  the  enormous  value  which  this  area  is  to  the 
country  to  the  south.  It  is  sufficient  to  say  that  the  source 
of  supply  for  the  next  hundred  years  for  the  progress  o^ 


The  greater  half  of  the  continent. 


23 


the  United  States,  lies  largely  within  the  Dominion  ;  and 
that  no  estimate  of  wealth,  on  the  one  hand,  or  of  advan- 
tage and  possible  convenience  on  the  other,  is  possible,  so 
far  as  the  United  States  is  concerned.  Fully  one-half  of 
the  lumber  consumed  in  many  Western  States  is  now 
derived  from  the  r'anadian  forests,  climbing  as  it  does 
Over  a  wall  in  the  shape  of  a  duty  of  twenty  per  cent. 
The  protection  thus  afforded  practically  operates  as  a 
stimulant  for  the  destruction  of  American  forests.  The 
hard  and  white  woods  in  Ontario,  almost  within  sight  of 
the  border,  are  of  inestimable  value  in  the  manufacture  of 
furniture;  and  there  are  enormous  supplies  of  the  beauti- 
ful bird's-eye  maple,  black  birch,  oak,  basswood,  black 
ash,  and  other  highly  ornamental  woods,  which,  in  this 
country,  are  of  great  value  for  the  highest  grade  of  furnl 
ture  Jand  interior  decoration, 


« 


average 


Perhaps  of  all  the  surprises  which  the 
American  encounters  in  discussing  the  wealth  of  Canadr, 
nothing  will  startle  him  to  a  greater  degree  than  this 
statement :— -ThAt  no  country  in  the  world  possesses  so 
much  iron  as  Oatiada,  in  no  land  is  it  so  easily  mined,  and 
nowhere  is  it  quite  so  accessible  to  manufacturing  centres. 
This  is  a  statement  which  no  doubt  will  challenge  contra- 
diction, and  it  is  to  be  regretted  that  the  space  is  too 
small  to  describe  at  length  the  location  and  precise  advan- 
tage which  the  iron  supply  of  this  Greater  Half  of  the 
Continent  would  afford  to  the  United  States.  Take  the 
instance  at  New  Glasgow,  in  Nova  Scotia,  where,  within 
a  radius  of  six  miles,  there  are  found  deposits  of  iron  ore 
of  the  highest  quality,  equal  to  that  of  any  other  portion 
of  the  world,  side  by  side  with  limestone,  chemically  pure, 


24 


THE   GREATER   BALF  OF  THE  CONTINENT. 


I  ;:i 


_l]l. 

1 

''*. 

'd 

* 

in  the  immediate  presence  of  coke  in  abundant  quantities, 
from  seams  thircy  feet  thick,  lying  directly  on  a  railway 
and  within  six  miles  of  the  Atlantic  Ocean  !  Could  there 
by  any  possibility  be  a  combination  more  fortuitous  than 
this  :  Throughout  Novia  Scotia  there  are  deposits  of  ore 
of  tlie  greatest  -nossible  value;  but,  in  Quebec,  and 
especially  in  Ontario,  the  value  of  the  iron  deposits  is 
something  enormous.  Near  the  city  of  Ottawa  there  is  a 
hill  of  iron  called  the  Haycock  mine,  which  would  yield 
an  output  of  one  hundr  d  tons  per  day  of  ore  for  one  hun- 
dred and  fifty  years  without  being  exl:austed.  On  the 
line  of  the  Ottawa,  on  the  St.  Lawrence,  in  the  Eastern 
townships,  on  the  Kingston  and  Pembroke  Railway,  on 
the  Central  Ontario  Railway,  through  Lake  Nipissing,  in 
Lake  Winnipeg  on  Big  Island,  and  on  Vancouver's  Island, 
there  are  enormous  deposits  of  ore,  all  possessing  this 
singular  advantage,  of  almost  a  freedom  from  phosphorus. 
It  has  been  truly  said  that  '*  what  the  devil  is  to  religion, 
that  phosphorus  is  to  iron."  The  poculir  advantage  of  the 
Canadian  ore  in  this  res|)ecfc  is  sufiiciently  demonstrated 
by  the  fact  that,  in  the  face  of  a  duty  of  seventy-five 
cents  per  ton,  this  iron  is  being  steadily  introduced,  for 
the  purpose  of  mixing  with  other  ores,  at  Joilet,  111.,  at 
Pittsburg,  Pa.,  and  at  other  points.  A  market  such  as  the 
United  States  would  aflford,  if  it  were  free,  and  the  intro- 
duction of  enterprise  and  capital,  would  create  for  these 
deposits  the  same  development  and  the  same  value  that 
have  followed  the  activity  in  the  Vermillion,  Menominee 
and  Gogebic  regions.  These  latter  deposits  are  almost 
within  sight  ol  Canada,  and  are  but  the  edge  of  the  great 
Laurentian  range  or  belt  of  minerals,  which,  starting  on 


THE  GREATER  HALF  OF  THE  CONTINENT. 


25 


the  Labrador  coast,  covers  the  vast  area  of  Canada, 
paralleling  the  St.  Lawrence  and  the  great  lakes,  till  they 
find  an  ending  in  the  Algoma  district — ^a  locality  that  has 
been  aptly  described  a  great  treasure  house  of  ninerals^ 
waiting  only  the  touch  of  American  enterprise,  and  stimu- 
lated by  an  American  market,  to  yield  results  far  exceed- 
ing those  of  any  mineral  development  on  the  continent. 

Coincident  with  the  presence  of  these  great  deposits  of 
iron  ore,  are  discoveries  of  even  greater  importance  in 
copper  and  nickel,  and  in  other  metals  hitherto  nameless 
but   of   surpassing  value.     The  copper  development  at 
Bruce  mines,  and   especially  and  recently  at  Sudbury 
Junction,  on  the  north  shore  of  Lake  Superior,  is  likely 
to  be   even   more   profitable  than   that  of  the  famous 
Calumet  and  Hecla  mines  on  the  south  shore  of  the  same 
lake,  whose  payment  of  thirty  millions  of  dividends  on  a 
capitalization  of  two  and  a  half  millions  of  dollars,  is  a 
realization  beyond  the  dreams  of  avarice.     Already  Ohio 
capitalists  have  invested  over  a  million  of  dollars  on  the 
line  of  the  Canadian  Pacific  Railway  in  these  deposits. 
The  development  of  nickel,  of  which  there  are  only  two 
or  three  known  deposits  in  the  world,  is  of  great  signifi- 
cance ;  while  in  gold  and  in  silver,  especially  the  latter, 
very  excellent  success  has  rewarded  the  efforts  of  the 
prospectors.     Perhaps  the  most  marvellous  yield  of  silver 
that  the  world  has  ever  seen  was  at  Silver  Islet,  within 
the  Canadian  border,  on  the  Lake  Superior  shore,  where, 
lor  a  space  of  two  or  three  years,  an  output  was  realized 
that  enriched  the  owners  wich  a  rapidity  equalled  only 
by  dreams  in  the  "  Arabian  Nights."     In  British  Colum- 
bia immense  quantities  of  gold  are  known  to  exist,  and 


■ifi\ 


26 


THE  GREATER  HALF  OF  THE  CONTINENT. 


the  fact  that  over  fifty  million  dollar^  worth  has  been 
mined  from  only  a  dozen  localities,  haidly  yet  developed, 
is  full  of  the  deepeti .  significance,  as  indicating  what  yet 
remains  in  that  distant  region  to  reward  the  adventurous 
effort  of  the  denizens  of  this  continent. 

But  it  is  not  alone  in  these  prominent  metals  that 
Canada  is  rich  in  natural  resources.     In  phosphates,  she 
possesses  enormous  quantities  of  the  purest  character. 
No  country  in  the  world  needs  fertilizers  more  than  large 
portions  of  the  United  States,  and  no  country  is  better 
able  to  supply  them  than  Canada.     Analysis  shows  that 
Canadian  phosphates  contain  phosphoric  acid  up  to  forty- 
seven  and  forty-nine  per  cent.,  equivalent  to  eighty  to 
eighty-eight  per  cent,  of  phosphate  of  lime.     No  contri- 
bution to  the  wealth  of  the  continent  is  of  greater  value 
than  the  development  of  the  Canadian  phosphates.     In 
asbestos,  in  mica,  antimony,  arsenic,  pirites,  oxides  of 
iron,  marble,  graphites,  plumbago,  gypsum,  white  quartz 
for  potter  s  use,  siliceous  sand-stones  for  glass,  emery  and 
numerous   other  products,   Canada  possesses   enormous 
quantities  awaiting  the  touch  of  man.    dn  the  matter  of 
lead,  it  is  found  in  almost  every  province,  especially  in 
British  Columbia,  the  lead  ore  there  containing  as  much 
as  fifteen  and  a  half  ounces  of  silver  to  the  ton.     The  de- 
posits of  salt  are  the  largest  and  the  purest  on  the  conti- 
nent.    Again,  another  surprise  awaits  the  observer  in 
that  in  the  article  of  coal.     Canada  possesses  the  only 
sources  of  supply  in  the  Atlantic  and  on  the  Pacific,  and 
that  between  these  two  there  are  stretches  of  coal  deposits 
amounting  to  ninety-seven  thousand  square  miles !     The 
magnitude  of  the  interests  involved  in  this  question  of 


THE  GREATER  HALF  OF   THE  CONTINENT. 


27 


the  supply  of  coal,  its  contiguity  and  economy  of 
handling,  are  of  vast  importance  to  the  United  States.  It 
is  significant  testimony  to  the  important  position  which 
Canada  holds  on  the  question  of  coal  supply,  when  it  is 
recalled  that  away  down  on  the  Atlantic,  the  manufac- 
turing coal  of  Nova  Scotia  should  without  doubt  supply 
the  manufacturing  centres  of  New  England,  at  a  minimum 
of  cost;  while  midway  across  the  continent,  in  wide 
stretches  of  territory  of  the  lowest  temperature,  supplies 
should  be  drawn  from  the  sources  which  Providence  has 
placed  within  the  Canadian  border,  and,  still  further, 
that,  on  the  distant  shores  of  the  Pacific,  San  Francisco 
and  contiguous  cities  should  at  this  time  be  drawing  their 
supply  of  artificial  heat  from  the  mines  of  British  Colum- 
bia, and  paying  a  tax  to  the  overburdened  treasury  of  the 
United  States  of  seventy -five  cents  a  ton ! 

And  now,  having  most  inadequately  set  forth  some  of 
the  plainly  marked  features  of  the  greater  half  of  the 
North  American  Continent,  it  remains  to  be  asked — 
What  destiny  awaits  it  all  ?  It  is  true  that  the  state- 
ments made  herein  are  nearly  all  in  the  nature  of  sur- 
prises, but  they  take  on  this  form  mostly  because  of  the 
hitherto  good-natured  indiffer'^nce  of  the  people  of  the 
United  States  in  all  that  relates  to  Canada.  But  a 
change  in  this  respect  imjiends.  The  Canadian  question 
forces  itself  upon  the  public  mind  of  the  United  States 
for  adjustment.  Aside  fro:n  serious  complications,  in- 
volving the  relations  with  a  European  power,  whose  navy 
is  the  only  menace  this  country  need  fear,  the  circum- 
stances of  the  hour  make  it  imperative  that  at  last  a 
policy  must  be  decided  upon,  continental  in  its  character. 


4 
I 

V 


28 


THE  GREATER  HALF  OP  THE  CONTINENT. 


I 


and  continental  in  its  consequences.  The  strange  sense 
of  limitation  that  thus  early  in  the  history  of  the  United 
States  is  felt,  when  there  is  no  more  new  territory  to 
occupy  ;  the  necessity  that  exists  for  the  widest  field  for 
supply  of  wants  that  brook  no  refusal,  as  in  lumber,  non- 
phosphorus  iron  ores,  coal,  fresh  water  fish  in  the  North- 
west, phosphates,  barley,  and  other  products,  either 
peculiar  to  Canada  or  geographically  essential  to  local 
progress  and  local  convenience ;  the  serious  unsettled 
railway  transportation  problem,  involving  the  possible 
discontinuance  of  the  Inter-state  Commerce  laws,  or  the 
destruction  of  profit  to  the  American  railway  systems 
running  east  and  west ;  the  future  destination  of  immi- 
gration, so  as  not  to  completely  politically  extinguish  the 
American;  the  worn-out  but  eminently  dangerous  fishery 
dispute ;  the  canal  discrimination ;  a  free  St  Lawrence  to 
supplement  a  free  Mississippi, — all  these  are  questions  too 
important  to  remain  in  chaos.  But,  in  addition  to  all 
these,  is  the  necessity  that  arises  out  of  the  recent  triumph 
of  the  Republican  party,  that  a  policy  should  actuate  its 
leaders,  commensurate  with  its  greatness ;  that  its  return 
to  power  should  be  signalized  by  achievements  that  will 
make  its  claim  to  continue!  confidence  less  insecure  than 
it  has  hitherto  been.  The  bitter  lesson  of  defeat  four 
yoars  ago,  and  of  narrowed  majorities  in  significant 
localities  since,  will  not  be  unheeded,  especially  if,  in 
manufacturing  centres,  it  can  be  made  to  appear  that  by 
opening  up  a  market,  continental  in  extent,  an  outlet  is 
afforded  for  the  over-pro(AUction  which  the  stimulant  of 
protection  has  created.  If  this  market  can  be  secured  at 
the  expense  of  that  hated  rival,  the  British  manufacturer, 


THE  GREATER  HALF  OF  THE  CONTINENT. 


29 


BO  mncli  the  better  for  the  purpose  in  view  ;  for  the 
frantic  bid  for  the  anti-British  vote  will  unfortunately 
still  be  necessary  to  political  party  existence.  Still 
another  motive  may  be  found  for  vast  expenditures, 
justified  by  the  requirement  of  territory,  in  order  to  beget 
a  reduction  of  the  surplus  without  the  disturbance  of  the 
•equilibrium  of  taxation.  All  this  catalogue  of  essentials 
in  the  present  political  situation  revolve  around  a  policy 
which  may  have  a  Continental  Unity  for  its  aim,  and 
which,  narrowed  down  to  practical  politics,  involves  an 
attempt  on  the  part  of  the  United  States  to  shape  the 
future  destiny  of  Canada.  The  considerations  that  sur- 
round this  whole  question  are  of  a  character  most  com- 
prehensive, and  they  will,  doubtless,  be  discussed  in  this 
country  with  frankness  and  liberality.  It  is  submitted, 
however,  that  the  almost  universal  conclusion  reached  in 
the  public  mind,  that  Canada  should  form  a  part  of  the 
Union,  should  be  revised.  Usually  there  are  two  parties 
to  a  bargain  ;  in  this  case  the  parties  number  three, — the 
United  States,  Canada,  and  Great  Britain.  Whether  the 
latter  is  quite  ready  for  an  extension  over  the  entire  con- 
tinent, comprising  40  per  cent,  of  her  empire,  of  the  prin- 
ciples of  the  Declaration  of  Independence  which  in  former 
years  she  struggled  so  vainly  to  defeat,  may  well  be 
doubted.  Whether  the  people  of  Canada  themselves, 
treated  by  the  mother  country  with  all  the  affectionate 
consideration  born  of  experience  with  her  elder  wayward 
daughter,  are  ready  to  sever  the  slender  ties  that  bind 
them  10  British  connection,  even  for  material  advantages, 
is  by  no  means  certain.  Indeed,  to  many  it  would  appear 
4hat  no  revolution  in  sentiment  could  possibly  be  greaw** 


i)-. 


30 


THE  GREATER  HALF  OF  THE  CONTINENT. 


than  the  change  which  would  be  necessary  to  bring  about 
a  willingness  on  the  part  of  the  Canadians  to  forfeit  their 
loyalty,  and  the  many  advantages  which  in  their  form  of 
government  they  possess.  A  political  union,  to  those 
best  informed,  seems  most  difficult  and  distant.  To 
these,  however,  a  commercial  union  which,  so  far  as  trade 
and  commerce  is  concerned,  would  be  just  as  advan- 
tageous, is  among  the  early  atta:r>able  possibilities* 


Erastus  WlMAN. 


New  York,  December,  1888. 


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